1 piece vs 2 piece driveline

[cipsmithers]

ug. so as i sit here thinking about how long the most recent u joint will last, i ponder...

my f150 has the original 2 piece drive line. the u joints flat out will not stand up to the 460.

the parts truck that the motor came out of had a much larger custom drive line with larger u joints in it. i have all the yokes and stuff for it. the only problem, the parts truck was a short box. mine is a long box.

the guy i bought the parts truck from suggested i have the drive shaft off the parts truck lengthened. that's all fine and dandy, but i wonder if that is the route i should take. would having a one piece disadvantage me in any way?

 

[cipsmithers]

 

[wizzard351]

any time i can ill run a one peice shaft. no more swing bearing and extra u-jiont to break

 

[rickpilgrim]

As long as you have all the yolks and stuff, why not have the OE shaft (2 pc) remade to use the bigger joints off the 1 pc unit. I know every LWB truck I have seen or owned had 2 pc no matter how small(F-150 ex cab lwb) to the biggest (F800 grain hauler) had 2 pc, and no company ever puts the extra money into making a 2 pc when a 1 pc will do the job.
Just my two cents

 

[UNRULEE]

Go with the one piece, like stated before you get to elimate 2 extra weak points, the extra u-joint and the carrier bearing.

FYI, if you're continuously popping u-joints I'd be willing to bet that the driveshaft angles are all screwy or you like to dump the clutch alot....or both.

 

[cipsmithers]

if i were to use it for a 2 piece, i would need another set of yokes for the third u joint and need to find a carrier bearing that would fit the bigger driveline.

i need to go bigger on the driveline. the PO of the parts truck said he did exactly what you said, put bigger u joints on the factory driveline. it twisted. thats when he had the bigger driveline made. I dont exactly know what the numbers are on this motor for torque, but its a f*** of a lot

 

[cipsmithers]

Go with the one piece, like stated before you get to elimate 2 extra weak points, the extra u-joint and the carrier bearing.

FYI, if you're continuously popping u-joints I'd be willing to bet that the driveshaft angles are all screwy or you like to dump the clutch alot....or both.

it isnt the driveline angles. at first i was losing them because i was doing burnouts(not the rev up and dump the clutch type, but the let out on the clutch normal, then put it to the floor). then after i not only broke another u joint, but threw my driveline way out of balance. now i have another driveline out of another truck identical to mine, and i dont burnout. i blew another one out when i was cruising along at about 20 mph in 2nd (t18) and put it to the wood. i tried another ujoint just for good measure. it dont matter if im cruising along idling or cruising at 4 grand, if im in second gear and i pin it, i blow a joint

 

[TexasRho83]

Man sounds screwy to say the least. Both of my SCs have the 2 pc and I've NEVER had a problem with U-Joints on them. The ONLY time I've ever had U-joints do what yours looks like is when I put a lift on and got the pinion angle off by a couple degrees. At that point, I was going through joints every 6 weeks (got really really good at replacing them lol).

Go the one piece if you think it'll work better for your application...especially if the previous owner did that and it worked for him with that motor.

 

[1985 Ford F-150]

Go with the one piece and get rid of the carrier bearing that might be part of the problem. None of my trucks have a carrier bearing.

 

[cipsmithers]

yeah ive decided to go 1 piece. I just replaced another joint and after a day it started squeeking. i think at this point its my ceramic clutch grabbing so hard that it wraps that axle up before im even moving

 

[Truckin4life]

I like the idea of a 1 piece shaft my self...

 

[1985 Ford F-150]

Get some ladder bars.

 

[Truckin4life]

Who you talkin to Dan?
I dont see how ladder bars are goin to help drive line twist....

 

[Lost]

I parted out a 93 f150 4x4 sc long bed had 1 pc . And had 1 made for a f350 crew no issues

 

[Truckin4life]

Interesting, i wonder if that was factory or what the 1piece vs 2piece application is?

 

[1985 Ford F-150]

I was talkin to the OP. He thinks hes got axle wrap and that sounds like a logical reason to why hes eatin U joints so quick. Also with the truck bein a half ton it probly dont take much to cause it.

 

[Truckin4life]

if axle wrap is the issue, then ladder bars all the way!

 

[rickpilgrim]

Just thinking about this a bit and remembered I have an 82 GM* CC LWB 2wd that was diesel and I put a 420hp 455 Olds in. First time out BANG goes rear joint, New U in 5 mi later Bang again and did that 2 more times. Started a real close look and found one of the pinion joint saddles had been been grooved just a bit and had a 1/4" wide by .21" deep groove. That was enough of unsupported UJ cap to wreck every U joint I could buy, never broke it with the diesel and replaced the saddle and never broke since.
If you have spring wrap up issues either good HD traction bars or ladder bars are a must for high HP trucks!

And and please dont give me any garbage about the GM* being the problem, found out recently it has the same UJ's as my 87 F250 4x4 with 460.

 

[TexasNomad]

I don't get the 2 piece drive shafts, just to many things to break...
You could all ways go with a custom made shaft?

 

[Truckin4life]

Fancy solid billet?
Smells like bling to me!